


A Little Chat

by Harribarry101



Category: Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity (Video Game), The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Fantasy, Love, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-27
Updated: 2021-01-27
Packaged: 2021-03-13 11:49:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,163
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29028237
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Harribarry101/pseuds/Harribarry101
Summary: Having been sent to destroy a monster outpost threatening Hyrule Castle, Link and Urbosa settle down amidst the ruins to rest as night falls all around them. During this time, Urbosa takes the opportunity she has alone with Link to have a little chat with him about his painfully obvious desire for a certain Zora Princess.Naturally, Link doesn’t want speak of how he feels about Mipha; not to Urbosa, and certainly not to the princess herself. Urbosa, however, isn’t one to be put off by such things.
Relationships: Link & Urbosa (Legend of Zelda), Link/Mipha (Legend of Zelda)
Comments: 5
Kudos: 31





	A Little Chat

Night was falling fast around the ruins of what had once been a heavy guarded monster encampment, stretching its velvety shroud across the heavens and slowly but surely extinguishing the last remnants of the day’s light, so that the campfire in the centre of the clearing seemed to grow brighter and brighter with every passing second. Right now, there was some time left before those flames would become their primary source of illumination, and the trunks of the gnarled trees that grew all around them were still clearly visible in the soft glow of the dying day. Soon, however, those trees would be lost to the sight of those seated around the fire, as would everything else more than twenty feet beyond its radiance. It wasn’t the ideal situation– an exposed area surrounded by a thick cluster of trees, the darkness beyond which could be home to any number of threats – but Urbosa didn’t think much of it. She had no doubt that they would remain undisturbed tonight.

Shifting slightly against the piece of scaffolding she was leaning against, Urbosa gazed down at a seat next to the campfire upon which a blue-clad figure sat, the purple hilt of the Master Sword protruding from over his shoulder, staring into the warm light of the flames with unfocused eyes and furrowed brow. Link was apparently lost deep in thought, dead to the world around him, pondering something that appeared to be demanding his undivided attention – and Urbosa had a very shrewd idea what exactly that might be. It was the same thing that had kept him occupied for months now, and it was a problem that, in Urbosa’s opinion, had been allowed to fester for far too long. It was about time she put those thoughts, and worries, down for good.

Unfortunately, the last time she had tried to do so, Link hadn’t been particularly supportive of her attempts to assist him. He had, in fact, told her in no uncertain terms to stay out of his business, something which Urbosa would be happy to do, if only she could trust him to sort things out himself. As she could not, it was up to her to give Link the help he needed to overcome this trial; in fact, doing so was the very reason she had requested that she and him take this camp alone. When they had last been alone like this, several weeks ago, her poking and prodding had yielded some results. She hoped that they would yield even more so now. It was ultimately for the best, after all.

On the whole, it was time that she and Link had a little chat.

“Tell me, boy,” she began, her loud voice cutting deep into the still silence of the night. “Have you seen your… ah, your Zora friend recently?”

Link didn’t so much as twitch in reaction. His gaze remained steadily on the fire, but there was a subtle tightening of his eyes that indicated that he had heard Urbosa’s words perfectly clearly, and had immediately understood where she was steering the conversation. Urbosa gave him a few seconds, but he didn’t reply; not that she had assumed he would – feigning muteness was a favoured tactic of his - but she had supposed she might as well give him the opportunity, regardless. As she had suspected, however, more prodding was required if she desired an answer.

“Have you heard from her at all?” Urbosa asked, her voice perfectly casual even as she held back a smile in response to just how hard he was trying not to react to her words. “Corresponded, perhaps, in any way? You know, spoken to her about anything… important as of late?”

Still no reply though a definite flicker of emotion crossed his face, disappearing almost as quickly as it had arisen. Urbosa gave a loud sigh and shook her head in disappointment.

“No?” she exclaimed. “Well, isn’t that a shame! What on Hyrule’s stopping you from seeing her?”

Link shifted slightly in his seat at the particularly innocent tone of those last two words, the tightening of his eyes becoming more pronounced as he continued to stare resolutely into the fire. Urbosa, acting as if she had no idea of the effect her words were having on him, continued, “I mean, if I were you, I would be sending her letters on a daily basis at this point. I would hardly be able to stand all this time away from her. Especially with… well, with exactly what she means to you.”

Link slowly turned his head to face her and gave her a look that very clearly conveyed the impression that if she did not desist from her current topic of conversation then he would be forced to subject her to slow and very painful death. Urbosa stared back happily, a spark of mischief dancing behind her eyes, smiling sweetly at him to convey with equal clarity that she had no absolutely qualms about continuing whatsoever. In response, Link’s glare became even more pronounced. Urbosa couldn’t help but let out a snigger. Though the whole point of this was, of course, ultimately for his benefit, she couldn’t deny that it was quite amusing to see him squirm like this.

“Oh, don’t give me that look!” she admonished him with mock severity. “We both know exactly how you feel for her, and, to be honest, I can’t blame you. She’s a simply wonderful person; and rather attractive, if I do say so myself. I mean, I’d love to see the two of you get together. I can most certainly see why you’ve taken the time to get so close to her.”

Link’s gaze abruptly slid away from hers, as if suddenly unable to hold it any longer. His eyes fell to the ground, and he flushed slightly as if her words had somehow made him uncomfortable. Urbosa felt a short-lived, vague, but still very real sense of sadness washing over her as she did so. While she had, of course, been expecting something exactly like this to have happened when she had gone into this, it was still a bit of a let-down to know that, even after what she had told him last time, it looked like he still hadn’t changed his attitude towards the one which he felt for so passionately

“But, of course, you don’t really do that anymore, do you?” She sounded both exasperated and vaguely disappointed at him. Perhaps hearing this, Link’s body tensed slightly and he threw her a furtive, unreadable glance before quickly looking away as he saw she was still watching. “You’re still hiding your true feelings from her – avoiding her, even? Dear me, boy. Please don’t tell me this is true.”

Link’s reply – or, rather, lack thereof – spoke volumes. Urbosa tutted softly. “Honestly, boy, you’re allowing this opportunity to slip past you. And it’s only hurting you both. She wants it as much as you do.” Link’s mouth twitched, as if he longed to hurl a retort back at her, but he remained silent. “Yet neither of you are willing to make the first move.”

Link was on the verge of giving in – Urbosa could see it in the tension of his face; the way his jaw moved as if suppressing all the verbal barbs he longed to throw at her. Just one more prod should push him over, force him to respond, and then he’d been drawn into conversation with her. She searched for something suitable; something that wasn’t too over-the-top, and yet was enough to make him snap at her. And then it came to her.

“It’s such a shame,” she said sadly, shaking her head in mock regret. “As I said, I’d love to see it happen. You two would be very cute together. Of course,” she added brightly, as if the thought had only just occurred to her, “if you’re not going to do it, I could always be the one to break the news to Mipha for you-“

“Don’t you dare, Urbosa.”

The words were low, and spoken in tone so dark it could easily pass for a growl. Link raised his head once again towards Urbosa, his face taunt with sudden fury. He raised his arm and levelled a single, accusing finger at her face. “I only confessed to you what I felt for her under the condition that you _wouldn’t_ interfere in our relationship.”

Urbosa shrugged casually, looking completely unperturbed by his obvious anger. “I would have gotten the truth from you eventually, even if you hadn’t given it to me when you did. It was obvious, really; and it still is.” She smiled teasingly at him. “Just as obvious, in fact, as Mipha’s own reciprocal feelings towards you.”

“Would you stop saying that?!” Link hissed, his hands balling themselves into fists at his side as he glared viciously at her. His voice shook slightly with suppressed emotion as he went on. “I’ve already told you, I haven’t seen anything that even _hints_ that Mipha feels the same way as I do!”

Urbosa restrained herself from letting out a loud, exasperated sigh with an enormous effort. She had called it before, alright; and it looked as if she had been right on the mark. Link had, indeed, not shifted an inch from his position, despite her previous attempt to make him budge. Not only was he still forcing Mipha away from him – which she imagined was just as painful for Link as it was for the Zora herself – he continued to blind himself to the evidence that, in Urbosa’s opinion, was both overwhelming and very obviously in front of him, if only he was willing to see it. It was honestly rather frustrating to see these two young people longing for one another but doing absolutely nothing to make it happen – in fact, doing just the opposite. Urbosa wished that Link would just go up to Mipha and confess, because it would make everything a whole lot better for the both of them.

It was now clear, even more so than it had been before, that he wasn’t going to make such a move without some encouragement, so it appeared to be up to Urbosa to slap some sense into him. As she had also predicted, however, he was none too happy about it.

“Really?” she asked him sceptically. “There’s nothing to prove it? Are you sure about that?”

“Yes, I am!” he snapped, his face still tight and angry as he glared up at her from his seat around the campfire.

“Not even those furtive glances she’s been throwing at you?” Urbosa questioned shrewdly, her voice perfectly calm in the face of his frustration.

“I- she’s allowed to look at me! That doesn’t prove anything!”

“Yes, but she isn’t simply _looking_ at you,” Urbosa elaborated. “She’s looking at you in a manner so affectionate that it makes it quite clear exactly how she feels - so longing that it makes it extremely obvious how much she desires you.”

Link flinched slightly at the word ‘desire’. His angry expression faltered, to be replaced by one of confusion. “She doesn’t… she doesn’t look at me like that! When does she do that!?”

“Far too often for it to be free from romantic attraction, I assure you,” Urbosa said drily.

“Look, that’s not the way Mipha looks at me!” Link insisted hotly. “You can’t just take something as vague as that and use it to support an assumption as-“

“What about the way she acts around you?”

“-as; I don’t… wha-what do you mean?”

Urbosa shook her head (an expression which she used a lot, especially around Link), laughing at the childlike indignancy in his expression. “Oh, come on, boy, you must have noticed this one,” she teased him jovially. “Have you not seen how flustered she gets when you’re so much as in the same square mile as her? She can barely string two words together!”

“Well, she- she’s just distracted by something!” Link blustered, though his face flushed once again. Urbosa snickered; even though she felt frustrated at his inflexibly attitude, she found it rather entertaining to bear witness to the showcase of mental gymnastics that he had gone through to reach his stubborn, close-minded conclusion.

“Yes, she is – you.”

“No, not me!” Link retorted loudly. “Look, there’s plenty to think about in the leadup to the Calamity, and I know from experience that she has a tendency to get lost in thought worrying about stuff-“

“Stuff like how she’s going to break the news about how exactly she feels for you?” Urbosa asked pointedly.

Link snarled, his face contorting with frustration. “I’ve already said, not me! Look, she cares about me, okay, but I can’t see a thing that might prove that she cares about me in _that way!_ ”

Urbosa raised a single, sceptic eyebrow. “Boy, the way she acts around you is a clear indication that she most certainly _does_ care about you in that way. Besides,” she added, “she always makes an extra effort to look her best – and most attractive – whenever she knows she’s going to see you.”

“It’s not-“ Link cut himself off, looking stunned and bewildered. “H-how would you know that?”

Urbosa shot him a pitying glance. “I have shared a room with her before, remember? Travelling across Hyrule with the Champions and such?”

“Well, I… how do you know that it’s for my benefit? It’s perfectly normal for her to want to make herself presentable-“

Urbosa groaned to herself, listening with half an ear as he continued to ramble on. This conversation was fast moving from humorous and mildly annoying to simply frustrating as he continued to deny everything she said; everything that clearly proved Mipha’s obvious longing for him. It was apparent that he was obsessed to continue like this, and no more stating of evidence from Urbosa would get him any closer to seeing things from her point of view. She decided to end his prattle and cut straight to the point.

“Look, boy,” she said wearily, interrupting him in the middle of his tirade, “it’s pretty obvious that she reciprocates your feelings. Everything she does points to the fact that she desires that special type of relationship with you as much as you want it with her. Stop denying it, and tell me; are you or are you not going to act upon what I have told you today?”

“Of course, I’m not,” Link replied, his voice shaking.

“Boy-“

“No, Urbosa!” Link roared, the sudden fury and vehemence in his voice cutting her off before she could even speak a word. If he had been glaring angrily at her beforehand, it was nothing compared to the way he looked at her now; he seemed simply livid. “None of that means anything, it’s all just… just coincidence and speculation that you’ve strung together in an attempt to get me to confess! There are any number of reasons that she could be acting in this way, and I should understand; I’ve known her for most of my life!”

He paused in his diatribe to take a deep breath, and, as he did so, Urbosa saw the rage that filled him draining out as just quickly as it had arrived, causing him to look suddenly rather deflated and pathetic. “Could you… could you stop trying to do this for me and let me make my own conclusion?”

Urbosa, who had not expected him to react so forcefully and was rather taken aback by his sudden outburst, hastened to make her words softer and more empathetic. “I understand that-“

“Just… stop. I can decide what to do on my own, based on my own observations.” He looked imploringly at her, and in his eyes Urbosa could clearly see his plea. “Can we just drop this now? Please?”

Urbosa gazed back at him for a moment, before giving a soft sigh of defeat and bowing her head in submission. “Of course. If that is what you… truly desire.”

Link stared at her for another second, as if trying to divine hidden meaning from behind her words, before slowly turning his gaze back towards the radiant, flickering light of the campfire, his eyes still tight with apprehension and his throat still taut from their argument. Urbosa lapsed into silence, feeling a mixture of concern, amusement, frustration and exasperation swirling around inside of her as she looked upon the stubborn, obstinate young Hylian who sat before her, resolutely refusing see that which was right beyond his own nose. Under normal circumstances, she would be perfectly fine with letting him continue making his own observations. Unfortunately, in this case, his current observations were limited and restrictive, and were therefore rather inaccurate. It was quite obvious that he was ignoring Mipha’s subtle hints and signs; and Urbosa knew exactly why he was doing as such. But how to prove it to him was a different matter entirely.

Urbosa leaned back against her beam of scaffolding, frowning to herself and thinking hard. The straightforward approach - of simply telling Link the truth and forcing him into a decision - hadn’t worked. Link was far more sensitive about this than she had assumed, and cursed herself for being so hard on him; of course, he felt strongly about something as important as this. Tackling the problem head-on would do nothing more but cause Link distress, and while Urbosa enjoyed seeing him squirm as she teased him, the last thing she wanted was to actually cause him pain. She would need a different way of going about this, a less direct way, one which wasn’t as forceful and yet would still let him see the truth. She needed some way of showing what she meant, of demonstrating it to him, and not simply telling him. She needed to convince Link to make his own, proper observations. To open his mind, and allow him to let Mipha in on his own terms.

But how to go about doing such a thing? There were any number of ways that she could begin, but the majority of them ran into problems early on and died fairly quickly. She needed something that could end this now, before they let this problem drag out for any longer - Urbosa was certain that she wouldn’t have another opportunity like this for a long time, and every day he continued along this self-destructive path was another day both he and Mipha had to suffer. Unfortunately, those strict conditions severely limited her options. Every method that involved Mipha being present, for example, had to be discarded, as did anything that would take multiple days to complete. Confessing to Mipha on Link’s behalf was still an option - it wouldn’t, of course, finish it tonight, but it would still do so before it could drag on much longer. Despite her tease towards Link, however, and despite how much of an easy way out it would be, she had to discard that one as well; it would be taking her duty too far and intruding where she should not go. Urbosa racked her brains, trying to conjure up some idea that would end it before any more damage could be done, some way to prove to him that he wasn’t seeing the whole picture, and to set him once again on the right path. Yet no plan she dreamed up of lasted longer than a few seconds before it was thrown out.

Idly, her eyes strayed towards the boy in question. He was still staring reminiscently into the campfire, his arms across his knees, his fists clenched tightly together. His face was pale and expressionless, his eyes dull and empty as they gazed at the flickering, everchanging shape of the flames. He wore the Champion’s tunic that Zelda had gifted to him at the inauguration ceremony many months ago, which shone brilliant blue in the light of the campfire. The Sword that Seals the Darkness was strapped across his back, the gold highlights that adorned its purple sheath twinkling softly in a mesmerising fashion. Urbosa had witnessed Link’s prowess in battle many times since becoming a Champion, and had been suitably impressed each and every time. She wondered vaguely who would come out on top if she and Link were to duel. She had a sneaking suspicion that it wouldn’t be her.

And then suddenly, she had her solution.

Urbosa leapt up from her scaffolding and strode over to where Link sat, still lost with only his thoughts for company. The Hylian started as she clapped him on the shoulder and quickly whipped around to face her. She grinned at the startled expression on his face.

“Well, there’s no point sitting around here moping all night,” she told him happily. “Let’s see what you can do with that pointy little stick you’ve got hanging onto your back, boy.”

Link gazed at her in open bewilderment. “You’ve seen me in combat before.”

“Well, yes,” Urbosa agreed, strolling over towards a flat, clear patch of grass and gesturing for him to follow, “but that was simply against monsters. I’d like to see what you could do against an opponent like me.”

The confused expression on Link’s face changed to suspicion in an instant as he squinted at her, obviously wondering whether or not this had anything to do with their previous conversation. “Why?”

Urbosa shrugged casually. “Oh, I’m just wondering who’ll come out on top.”

He was still suspicious; Urbosa could see it in his expression. Suspicious that she was working on some plan, and that this whole sparring thing was simply a pretence for a fresh attempt at persuading him to confess his feelings to Mipha. Luckily, Urbosa had practiced long and hard to keep her face innocent and free from guile in situations just like this, and after a few seconds of hesitation, Link gave a terse nod and stood up. He walked slowly over to where a benignly-smiling Urbosa waited for him, stopping just a few feet away and looking up at her through wary eyes.

“Just to be clear,” he said in a carefully articulated voice, “the objective here is to disarm only?”

“Or simply to prove that you could have killed the other if you so desired.” Link nodded again, this time in acknowledgement as Urbosa drew the Scimitar of the Seven from its sheath on the back of her hips and pointed it at him. “Are you ready, boy?”

Link reached his right hand across his back and unsheathed the Master Sword with a soft _hiss_ of metal scraping against cloth. As the area was now free from the presence of evil, the blade was dull and without light, and yet Urbosa could tell at a glance that it was an outstandingly crafted weapon even without the immense magical power it was said to contain. He hefted it, as if testing its balance, which Urbosa assumed to be perfect, before squaring up and giving yet another short nod.

“Then we begin,” Urbosa said softly.

Link was certainly a swordfighter of rare, outstanding quality. He executed strong and swift stokes with little to no effort, blocked or deflected Urbosa’s most formidable attacks with apparent ease, and moved fluently and gracefully as if combat was second nature to him. Despite Urbosa’s massive advantages in weight, experience and, most obviously, height, they were quite evenly matched. Link was just as fast as Urbosa, and seemed to have some inhuman ability to predict exactly where her next attack would come from. The air around them was soon filled with loud clangings and scrapings of steel upon steel, accompanied by the softer but equally perceptible grunts as the combatants lunged and dodged around each other, each watching intently for an opportunity to break through the other’s guard and end the duel.

That end took a while to arrive, but when it finally came, it came fast, and proved Urbosa’s earlier suspicion correct. About thirty seconds into the fight, Link, having just deflected a heavy-hitting overhead strike from Urbosa, thrust forward with the Blade of Evil’s Bane and skewered its tip through the Scimitar of the Seven’s guard. Before Urbosa could react to the sudden presence of a sharp blade right next to her hand, he gave it a short but sudden twist, somehow managing to not sever Urbosa’s fingers in the process, and sent it spinning out of the Gerudo’s hand. It flew several feet and landed heavily upon the grassy ground with a resounding _thud._ Barely half a second later, the Master Sword was suddenly pressed up right next to Urbosa’s throat, stopping just a bare inch away from piercing through her jugular.

Urbosa glanced over to where her weapon lay, strewn upon the grassy floor, far too distant to be of any use in a real battle, and began to laugh.

“Well, well, well,” she chortled, turning back to Link and sending him an appreciative glance at his impressive performance. “I can certainly see why it was you who was chosen as my Zelda’s appointed knight. That was quite the show, boy.”

Link did not offer a smile in return. He slowly removed the tip of the Master Sword from Urbosa’s throat, and slid it in stoic silence back into the sheath on his back. He stared emotionlessly up at her for a few seconds, before abruptly asking, “What were you trying to prove with that?”

Urbosa gave him a hurt look. “Come on, boy. What makes you think that I was trying to prove something with that? Why couldn’t it have just been a friendly little competition?”

“I know you, Urbosa,” Link said, his voice low and measured as he continued to gaze unblinkingly at her face. “You never do anything like that without purpose. So, what was that purpose?”

The innocent façade collapsed, and Urbosa grinned wickedly. “Oh, it was simply to illustrate my point.”

Then she charged at him.

Though Link had been avidly staring at her face for any indications of duplicity, it was quite clear that he hadn’t expected her to do something as preposterous as this. She was practically already upon him when he suddenly woke up to this new threat bearing down on him; his eyes widening in surprise as he reflexively threw up his arms in an attempt to ward her off, but to no avail. He lost his balance as she slammed into him at full speed, sending him tumbling backwards to land heavily on his side with a loud _oof_ as the air was driven from him by the force of his impact. He twisted around on the ground, attempting to pull himself back up, before freezing as he abruptly found himself face to face with the Scimitar of the Seven, which Urbosa had retrieved and was now pointing directly at his chest. He stared silently its vicious double tip for a few seconds, as if attempting to comprehend what had just transpired, before his eyes slowly moved back up towards his attacker’s face.

And in them was a clear accusation. “That was cheating.”

Urbosa’s grin widened as she returned her weapon to its sheath. “As I said, it was to illustrate my point. Why didn’t you see that attack coming?”

“Because you shouldn’t have made it.” The suspicious glare was back on his face, now far more intense than it had been before. “The fight was over. I had triumphed, and put my weapon away.” His glare darkened. “Don’t you consider an attack such as that dishonourable?”

“Normally, well, of course I do - please don’t say you think so little of me!” Urbosa sounded shocked and offended at the very idea. “But this situation was far from normality. I only did it to prove that you fall for such attacks because you are determined not to see them coming.”

Link slowly pulled himself to his feet. He dusted himself off, still staring darkly at Urbosa. “Yes, I didn’t see it coming. I didn’t _want_ to see it. What does that have to do with anything?”

“My point is,” Urbosa explained patiently, “something similar is going on with your inability to notice the obvious indications that Mipha is as obsessed with you as you are with her.”

Link’s entire demeanour changed within a single instant. One second, he was squinting suspiciously at Urbosa in an effort to glean anything he could about where this conversation was going, the next he was a completely nonsensical, incoherent mess, tripping over his own words as he hotly attempted to refute her claim.

“She is not- there’s no- I… what do you mean, ‘something similar is going on’?!” he spluttered, sounding both bewildered and blusteringly indignant. He paused for a second to catch his breath, then continued, his voice stronger and clearer than before but no less emotional. “All right, I get that it’s easy for me to block out things I don’t want to see, but what does that have to do with Mipha? Why wouldn’t I want her to feel the same way I do?! I want her more than anything else!” His voice cracked upon that last sentence.

“I know you do, boy; don’t you hear me deny it!” Urbosa assured him, feeling relief wash over her as she saw he had grasped the idea. She had assumed that he had understood what she meant, but she had still been quietly worrying that he wouldn’t. If he hadn’t, then she would have no means of ending this. “But what I mean is, as much as you want her to reciprocate your feelings, you fear in equal measure that she does not.”

And again, Link’s expression completely shifted. This time, it was to abject terror.

“W-what do you mean?”

And, upon seeing just how vulnerable and afraid he had become, upon fully realising just how deep this fear truly ran, Urbosa’s sarcastic, uncaring, warrior-like shell broke, and behind it was left no frustration, nor any mischievous humour, but only pity for the terrified boy before her. She knelt down to meet his wide eyes, and stared deep into them. Beyond them, the valiantly suppressed but heart-wrenchingly obvious fluttering of fear ran rampant. They gazed at each other in silence for a few seconds - her usually hard expression soft and empathetic, his usually blank face tight and fearful - before she spoke, her voice every bit as comforting as her face.

“Link.” It was the first time she had ever used his name when addressing him; perhaps he recognised it, for his eyes widened slightly in response. “Be honest. You fear being put down by her. You fear confessing, and finding out that she doesn’t feel the same, and destroying that relationship which you treasure so dearly.”

The fear fluttering in Link’s eyes pulsed even faster. He cringed away from her, as if unwilling to meet her gaze, seeming more like a small child caught in wrongdoing than a fully accomplished knight that had just beaten a woman with twenty years more experience than him in a duel. “I… I…”

“I don’t blame you, Link,” Urbosa told him quietly, reaching out a hand to gently push his face back towards hers; his eyes quickly slid away from her own. “I meant it when I told you I believed her to be wonderful person, and it is completely understandable for you to fear breaking that bond you share. But you cannot let that blind your judgement.”

“I don’t… understand…”

“You are letting your fear of Mipha putting you down prevent you from seeing the proof that she won’t. You are determined not to see the evidence of her desire - to pass it off using even the weakest of excuses - because you don’t want to. Because it is easier to convince yourself that she doesn’t reciprocate than to get your hopes up, confess, and get refused.” Upon these words, Link twitched abruptly, his eyes tightening even further as he threw a quick, frightened glance at her. Urbosa could see that her demonstration had finally gotten to him; in his heart, he knew it to be true. “It is easier, perhaps, but not better. Because it’s stopping you from loving her.”

Link looked simply miserable. When he next spoke, he sounded utterly dejected; almost as if he was pleading with her for an easy way out. “But… but I do-“

“Listen to me, Link,” Urbosa said urgently, shaking him by his shoulders as she did so. She didn’t particularly want to treat him roughly when he was in such a fragile state, but it was crucial that this next point to get through to him, even if nothing else did. “Simply feeling this way towards her is not loving her. Love is not necessarily the feeling of affection, but the act of altruism unto others. And the way you are acting towards her now - shutting her out, pushing her away - is not altruism, and it is not love. I know you care about Mipha more than that. So, I beg of you, please start showing her that you do.”

Link started to speak, then hesitated. Into his hesitation, Urbosa spoke again. “I’m not asking for a confession, Link. I just want you to stop forcing her away from you, and try to keep an open mind.”

There was a long, pronounced silence, but Urbosa did not break it. She let it hang, the stillness of the air punctuated only by the dry crackling of the burning campfire, and the soft chirping of the restless crickets that had awakened as the sun had fallen. Link’s eyes were downcast, his face in shadow, but it was clear in the tautness of his throat and the subtle shaking of his body as he breathed rapidly in and out that he was struggling desperately with what she had told him. She let him think, willing to give him all the time he needed to mull things over if it allowed him to come to the correct conclusion, to finally open up, and to let Mipha in…

After a long time, Link looked back up at her. A single, silvery tear had traced its way down his face.

“Do you… do you really think Mipha feels the same?” he whispered.

Urbosa smiled warmly. “I’m certain of it. But what you choose to believe is your decision, not mine; as is what you choose to do about it. As I said, it’s the way you act on these feelings - both hers and yours - that is how you really love her.”

There was another silence, before Link gave a small, shaky nod and took in a deep breath. “All right. I’ll… I’ll do it. I’ll let her in again, and I’ll try to… to see what you’re seeing.”

Urbosa stood up, flashing him another smile as she dusted herself off. “That’s all I can ask for.”

With that, she turned and began walking back to where the blazing light of the campfire continued to burn on. Link did not immediately make to follow her, but simply continued to stare vacantly at the place where she had been, still slowly turning things over in his head. As if on an impulse, he suddenly called out into the night.

“Urbosa?”

Urbosa paused, and turned once again to face him. “Yes?”

“Thank you.”

Urbosa grinned happily at him, joy lighting in her heart as he finally came to see sense - finally stopped denying the evidence that had lain right before him, and finally started to listen to the truth that had been there all along. It had been a long time coming, but now it had finally arrived; and she knew that he and Mipha would both be better off because of it. “You’re very welcome. Now, let’s get dinner cooking - assuming, of course, that you feel like eating tonight?”

Link nodded absentmindedly, his gaze still locked on nothing in particular as she continued to move towards the campfire. He stood perfectly still for another few seconds, pondering what he was to do now, before slowly beginning to walk towards the flames himself. His brow was still furrowed in thought, his eyes still tight with fear. His fists were still clenched in worry, his gait still stiff with nerves. His face was still tense in apprehension, his mind still racing, still full of doubt. He looked like a man who was uncertain in his certainty, unsure in his assurances, finding difficulty in accepting his acceptance; who had chosen his path but kept looking back, still wondering, even in the knowledge of everything he knew to be truth, whether the other way would be better. Though he had faith that it was right, the prospect of doing what he was planning to do terrified him.

Even so, he couldn’t stop a small smile playing out across his lips as he imagined just what he would say to Mipha the next time he saw her.

**Author's Note:**

> Yes, I know that both Link and Urbosa should have been wielding shields.
> 
> Production of this took longer than expected, as I had gotten most of the way through another story before realising that I actually didn’t like it and dumping it. Still, I’m reasonably happy with this one - admittedly not as happy as I was with the last one, but it’s still pretty good, in my opinion. Regardless of what I believe, I most sincerely hope that you enjoyed this short little story, and thank you for taking the time to read it.
> 
> Postscript - If you understand the meaning of the ancient Greek word ‘agapē’, it captures the essence of what I meant better than the more common and appropriate word I chose to use instead, ‘altruism’.


End file.
